With all that's happening with our economy and world politics, it's easy to lose sight of how fortunate we truly are. Times aren't great, for sure. But, compared to many others we are favored beyond measure. Something I read today reminded me of that, which prompts me to write about http://www.kiva.org/
Kiva.org is a non-profit that provides micro-loans to people throughout the world. The loans go to entrepreneurs who work hard under tough circumstances to provide for their families and their communities. $500 may not seem like a lot of money for a 'business loan', but it can literally change people's lives.
The loans are funded in small amounts ($25) by many people, so no one bears any unreasonable risk if the loans default. Once the loan is repaid, you can re-lend the money to another entrepreneur. I've been lending to Kiva for 18+ months and have never had anyone default, so I've been able to lend the same funds several times. If you wish, you can make a donation in someone's name, or give them a gift card so they can choose who receives the loans. Makes a great holiday gift.
I've added the Kiva.org feed to the right side of the page, which shows three current loan requests. To learn more about those entrepreneurs, or thousands of others, click away. I know there are many ways to be charitable, I hope you consider http://www.kiva.org/ when looking to give.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Rattlesnakes and Scorpions and Brown Recluse Spiders, Oh My!
Ah, the desert. So pretty. So poisonous.
A few weeks ago I pulled into the driveway to find Skip with the dog, motioning me to stop. I thought he was being funny, but then I noticed he was pointing at a very colorful stick. Holy poop. He brought the dog into the house while I kept an eye on the rattlesnake to see where it went. I did this from the car, with windows up and doors locked (safety first!). Skip came back with a long pole, picked up the snake, and flung it back down the hill. As it was silhouetted against the sky while if flew through the air, I noticed it had a giant lump in the middle of it. Must have had a rat for lunch. Yeesh.
Last week I was walking barefoot down a hallway on my way to a pool when I spotted a scorpion on the floor. Thankfully, it was dead; someone had already crushed it. It wasn't so scary, since it was flat. I'm pretty sure I'll still freak out if I see a live one. I'm just grateful I didn't step on it with bare feet.
Yesterday I was unpacking groceries. When I started to fold the bag, a large black angry looking spider appeared. ACK. Black widow spiders are a big problem here. They won't kill you, you'll just wish you were dead because of all the pain. I trapped it under a Ziplock plastic container (those things are versatile!), and then asked Sam to go get Skip, who apparently didn't hear my earlier screams. Skip took a look and said, "oh, that's not a black widow. That's a brown recluse, far worse." Fantastic. He calmly walked it out of the house and set it free. Hope the snake enjoys it.
A few weeks ago I pulled into the driveway to find Skip with the dog, motioning me to stop. I thought he was being funny, but then I noticed he was pointing at a very colorful stick. Holy poop. He brought the dog into the house while I kept an eye on the rattlesnake to see where it went. I did this from the car, with windows up and doors locked (safety first!). Skip came back with a long pole, picked up the snake, and flung it back down the hill. As it was silhouetted against the sky while if flew through the air, I noticed it had a giant lump in the middle of it. Must have had a rat for lunch. Yeesh.
Last week I was walking barefoot down a hallway on my way to a pool when I spotted a scorpion on the floor. Thankfully, it was dead; someone had already crushed it. It wasn't so scary, since it was flat. I'm pretty sure I'll still freak out if I see a live one. I'm just grateful I didn't step on it with bare feet.
Yesterday I was unpacking groceries. When I started to fold the bag, a large black angry looking spider appeared. ACK. Black widow spiders are a big problem here. They won't kill you, you'll just wish you were dead because of all the pain. I trapped it under a Ziplock plastic container (those things are versatile!), and then asked Sam to go get Skip, who apparently didn't hear my earlier screams. Skip took a look and said, "oh, that's not a black widow. That's a brown recluse, far worse." Fantastic. He calmly walked it out of the house and set it free. Hope the snake enjoys it.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Anyone using Palmolive Eco Dishwasher Detergent?
Skip and I both randomly bought this detergent a few weeks ago. It might be earth friendly, but it's leaving white streaks on both our dishes, pots, and glasses. The streaks are hard to get off. It hardly seems eco-friendly when I have to wash the dishes by hand after running them through the dishwasher. That's a lot of wasted water, especially in the desert.
Anyone else having this issue, or is it just us?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Sportsapalooza
It's been a very big week, sports-wise.
Thursday night, I went to my first U of A basketball game. This is a big deal. Skip is a yooooge fan of basketball in general, but of the Cats in particular. If you're a college basketball fan, you may have heard something about the coaching drama that's unfolded over the past few weeks. It was an exhibition game, but the first test of the team's new interim leadership. I didn't go so well at first; at the end of the half, they were up only one point over University of Incarnate Word. University of Who? U of A is a great team, UIW is a division three team, and they were quite a challenge. But, the second half went much better and the Cats pulled it out. Whew.
Last night we went to see the Ice Cats, the U of A hockey team. Not an NCAA team, hockey here is a club sport. But, a club sport that sells tickets to games and has a loyal non-student following. They played Chicago's DuPaul University. Both teams were...not good. I guess it's club hockey in the desert, you can't expect much. It was great to be at a game, and we had fun. The Ice Cats lost, not looking like they're going to have a great season.
Yesterday afternoon - I played kickball. Yup, kickball. It was a lot of fun. Kickball smack talk is high-larious. No one took things seriously, so it didn't matter that most of us were terrible. I scored a run and pitched a no-hitter one inning, but I was frequently the third out. D'oh! Oh well. Sadly, I'm quite sore today from all the activity. How sad.
Thursday night, I went to my first U of A basketball game. This is a big deal. Skip is a yooooge fan of basketball in general, but of the Cats in particular. If you're a college basketball fan, you may have heard something about the coaching drama that's unfolded over the past few weeks. It was an exhibition game, but the first test of the team's new interim leadership. I didn't go so well at first; at the end of the half, they were up only one point over University of Incarnate Word. University of Who? U of A is a great team, UIW is a division three team, and they were quite a challenge. But, the second half went much better and the Cats pulled it out. Whew.
Last night we went to see the Ice Cats, the U of A hockey team. Not an NCAA team, hockey here is a club sport. But, a club sport that sells tickets to games and has a loyal non-student following. They played Chicago's DuPaul University. Both teams were...not good. I guess it's club hockey in the desert, you can't expect much. It was great to be at a game, and we had fun. The Ice Cats lost, not looking like they're going to have a great season.
Yesterday afternoon - I played kickball. Yup, kickball. It was a lot of fun. Kickball smack talk is high-larious. No one took things seriously, so it didn't matter that most of us were terrible. I scored a run and pitched a no-hitter one inning, but I was frequently the third out. D'oh! Oh well. Sadly, I'm quite sore today from all the activity. How sad.
1 for 3 in the Fall Concert Series
We were super excited to see Chris Cornell, he of Soundgarden and Audioslave, at the Fox Theatre in late October. Even got the pricey tickets. Three hours before the concert was to start, we got an email telling us he was cancelling due to 'throat issues', otherwise known as 'crappy ticket sales'. Lame move, Cornell. Lame. Move.
Last week we made a mini road trip to Phoenix to see Matt Nathanson. We'd were unbelievably excited to see him as we had such a great time at his July concert. When we found the venue, the line was literally around the block an hour before doors opened. Not good. Rather than stand in line we went to dinner. After waiting for our food for an hour, we told them we were leaving. Our food magically appeared, they were very apologetic and took it off the bill. When we got our bill, they'd taken most of the drinks off too, so dinner for 4 with several cocktails = $6.00. Score.
We returned to the theatre to see the line even longer, and the inside already packed. Figuring we'd never get in, Skip told the manager at the door we wanted a refund because clearly they'd oversold the show. Instead, for no explainable reason, the dude just lifted the velvet rope and let us in. Score.
The place was jam packed but we managed to find seats on the patio with a partial view of the stage and good bar proximity. Super score.
Then the concert started.
And they closed the door that was giving us the view of the stage. Even if we'd wanted to, we couldn't have crammed ourselves into the main area to see the concert. We sat for a little while, but it basically was like listening to his CD, which we could do at home with cheaper drinks. So, Skip found the dude who let us in and said it was ridiculous, and kind of unsafe, so we were leaving and we'd like a refund. "Okay, no problem." What? I don't know why that guy was so accommodating to us, but he refunded our money. When we got outside, we realized you could see the stage pretty well from the sidewalk, so we stood outside and watched the show for 30 minutes before calling it a night. Far from our hoped for experience, but, hey, for $6 and a tank of gas, we had a pretty good time.
The one concert that went very well this fall was Shawn Mullins and Dar Williams. I've loved Dar for a long time, was super excited to see her in concert again. She didn't disappoint, she was great. Shawn Mullins was great too, first time I'd really heard most of his stuff. Another great music night in Tucson. Who knew this town had such a great music scene?
Last week we made a mini road trip to Phoenix to see Matt Nathanson. We'd were unbelievably excited to see him as we had such a great time at his July concert. When we found the venue, the line was literally around the block an hour before doors opened. Not good. Rather than stand in line we went to dinner. After waiting for our food for an hour, we told them we were leaving. Our food magically appeared, they were very apologetic and took it off the bill. When we got our bill, they'd taken most of the drinks off too, so dinner for 4 with several cocktails = $6.00. Score.
We returned to the theatre to see the line even longer, and the inside already packed. Figuring we'd never get in, Skip told the manager at the door we wanted a refund because clearly they'd oversold the show. Instead, for no explainable reason, the dude just lifted the velvet rope and let us in. Score.
The place was jam packed but we managed to find seats on the patio with a partial view of the stage and good bar proximity. Super score.
Then the concert started.
And they closed the door that was giving us the view of the stage. Even if we'd wanted to, we couldn't have crammed ourselves into the main area to see the concert. We sat for a little while, but it basically was like listening to his CD, which we could do at home with cheaper drinks. So, Skip found the dude who let us in and said it was ridiculous, and kind of unsafe, so we were leaving and we'd like a refund. "Okay, no problem." What? I don't know why that guy was so accommodating to us, but he refunded our money. When we got outside, we realized you could see the stage pretty well from the sidewalk, so we stood outside and watched the show for 30 minutes before calling it a night. Far from our hoped for experience, but, hey, for $6 and a tank of gas, we had a pretty good time.
The one concert that went very well this fall was Shawn Mullins and Dar Williams. I've loved Dar for a long time, was super excited to see her in concert again. She didn't disappoint, she was great. Shawn Mullins was great too, first time I'd really heard most of his stuff. Another great music night in Tucson. Who knew this town had such a great music scene?
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The only good thing about the early Christmas commercialism
Gingerbread lattes are back at Starbucks!
Although, this year they're "Ginger Snap" lattes. The barrista said it's the same thing, they just changed the name. And some of the ingredients. Um, so, not so much the same.
Anyone had one yet?
Although, this year they're "Ginger Snap" lattes. The barrista said it's the same thing, they just changed the name. And some of the ingredients. Um, so, not so much the same.
Anyone had one yet?
Saturday, November 1, 2008
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